born June 29, 1908, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.
died May 18, 1975, Woodbury, Conn.
U.S. composer of light orchestral music.
He studied composition and German and Scandinavian languages at Harvard; fluent in nine languages, he was an army interpreter in two wars. In 1936 he began a long association with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and pieces such as "Syncopated Clock," "Sleigh Ride," "Bugler's Holiday," and the Irish Suite became standards.